Adding to the danger for rangers

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne's plan to discard the firearms ban in the national park system challenges common sense on several levels. As the parent of a young park ranger in his first season at Yellowstone, let me point out that rangers patrol independently, often in inaccessible places far from the backup assistance other law enforcement personnel depend upon. Allowing loaded guns into our parks would make their jobs more difficult and dangerous.
National parks are special places that deserve respect for special rules. The well-established no-guns regulation has made our parks the safe refuges they are for visitors and wildlife alike.